MISD Files Emergency Petition With FCC For MITV 17

NEWS RELEASE:

McAllen, TX—The McAllen Independent School District (MISD) filed an Emergency Petition with the Federal Communications Commission Monday, September 20, 2010, asking it to issue a standstill order to protect public, educational, and governmental (“PEG”) channels such as MITV 17 and the City of McAllen’s MCN 12.

Beginning October 1, Time Warner Cable (TWC) has stated that it will stop providing PEG channels in an analog format, and will solely provide these channels in a digital format. The company will continue, however, to provide other basic tier programming, including broadcast channels in an analog format. As a result, on October 1, 2010, a TWC cable subscriber in Texas with analog equipment will be able to watch the PEG channels ONLY if the subscriber obtains additional cable equipment and may be subject to additional fees.

McAllen ISD Superintendent Dr. James Ponce believes TWC’s digitalization of PEG channels will harm the school district immediately and irreparably in three ways.

“First, we fear MITV will no longer be viewable by a substantial number of subscribers. This immediately will prevent us from communicating effectively with affected students and parents and the public,” said Dr. Ponce.

“Second, unless TWC provides the schools with converters for every television prior to conversion, we will lose the ability to view MITV 17 within our own classrooms. While Time Warner has promised to provide converters, we have not received them,” he added.

Dr. Ponce also suggested that MITV 17’s use as a curriculum tool would suffer if the channel was no longer universally available.

The McAllen Independent School District and the City of McAllen have said that Time Warner Cable has flatly refused to negotiate in any meaningful way.

Among the most important ways the City of McAllen uses its PEG Channel (MCN 12) is in the interest of public safety, delivering messages during emergencies.

“The City of McAllen is considering additional legal action to stop Time Warner Cable from altering the format or changing the channel location of these channels,” said City Attorney Kevin Pagan.

For more information, contact Miller & Van Eaton, P.L.L.C., at (202) 785-0600.